You don't want your secret to be revealed by others, right?

Chapter 107 - 43, Red Maple Lake_2

"Your Highness."

Master began, "This place is the back mountain of the Martial Cultivation Sect we control, and the sect is named ’Red Maple Lake.’ These four are the three highest-ranking elders and the Sect Leader of Red Maple Lake."

Among the four, three were men and one was a woman, mostly middle-aged, whereas the woman was younger, above average in appearance, and possessed both the roughness and robustness typical of martial artists.

"Sect Leader of Red Maple Lake, Bian Hongchao, at your service, Your Highness."

"Great Elder of Red Maple Lake, Wang Chengyi, at your service, Your Highness."

"Law Enforcement Elder of Red Maple Lake, Song Xinlian, at your service, Your Highness."

The four introduced themselves respectfully.

Lin Yue glanced at them and asked with interest, "Are you four the strongest in Red Maple Lake?"

The Sect Leader of Red Maple Lake immediately replied, "Yes, Your Highness, indeed."

"The strongest are only Martial Cultivators of the Five Elements Heavenly Barrier? It seems your sect isn’t very strong," Lin Yue remarked.

The four could only agree with what Your Highness had said.

Master laughed and said, "Your Highness, Red Maple Lake is indeed a second-tier Martial Cultivation Sect in Liangzhou, not very conspicuous, which conveniently allows Your Highness to reside here incognito. If Your Highness ever goes to Liangzhou City, you can pose as a member of the Red Maple Sect."

"Second-tier?"

Lin Yue slightly raised his eyebrow and asked, "That counts as second-tier? What about the first-tier sects then?"

"Generally, a sect that has Cultivators of the Four Symbols Heavenly Barrier and some of the Five Elements Level is considered first-tier," the Master explained.

"Your Highness has seen numerous Cultivators of the Four Symbols Level, so naturally, it wouldn’t seem anything extraordinary. But this isn’t Jingzhou, let alone Di Hong City. Here, the Four Symbols Level is already among the top," the Master added.

Lin Yue looked thoughtful.

True, places like Qingdu County, which never had a Martial Cultivator, treated those from Liangzhou City and Cultivators of the Four Symbols Heavenly Barrier as top figures.

Back when he was still a mortal, although he had killed Martial Cultivators, he understood that Martial Cultivators were significant figures, at least commanding thousands of men.

It’s just that recently, he had seen too many powerful figures, including dozens at the Four Symbols Level.

Moreover, he himself had broken through the Five Elements Heavenly Barrier, which was why he felt ordinary Martial Cultivators weren’t impressive; at least it took the Four Symbols Level to be considered strong.

But Martial Cultivators were already among the strong, even in Liangzhou City, they held very high status.

"So this means you are now considered a first-tier sect?" Lin Yue asked with interest.

Master replied with a bitter smile, "Your Highness is right. Nowadays our sect is on the decline, indeed only able to stand out among first-tier sects."

Though they had over ten individuals at the Four Symbols Level and a few among them were strong even within that level, they still couldn’t compare to the truly powerful Cultivation sects.

They could only be considered just above first-tier.

"Are there any Great Cultivators who have broken the Three Talents Heavenly Barrier nearby in Liangzhou City?" Lin Yue asked.

Master promptly replied, "That would be unlikely."

"Oh?" Lin Yue slightly raised his eyebrow.

"Your Highness seems not to know much about Great Cultivators, otherwise, you wouldn’t have asked that," the Master said.

"Great Cultivators, each one a terrifying existence that has truly touched the essence of heaven and earth. The laws of Great Yong have long since decreed that Great Cultivators must stay in Jingzhou or at the Three Religions Holy Land. With the Eye of Heaven constantly monitoring the world, any violation will surely invite the Purple Cloud Envoy or even more formidable beings from the Heaven Patrol Alliance."

"Must be in Jingzhou or the Three Religions Holy Land?" Lin Yue did not quite understand.

"Of course, if there are beings too powerful for even a Patrol Envoy to handle, naturally they won’t conform, but such beings are rare," the Master added.

Lin Yue suddenly remembered Tantian Sect Leader Wudao.

"So you’re saying that besides Jingzhou, the highest level of Cultivators in all other regions is at the Four Symbols Heavenly Barrier?" Lin Yue queried.

"Indeed so," the Master affirmed.

"Even when Patrol Envoys are dispatched, they are mostly Qingming Envoys, also at the Four Symbols Heavenly Barrier, only more powerful. In very few cases, a Great Cultivator like a Purple Cloud Envoy will arrive."

Lin Yue finally understood.

No wonder, even after the decline of Tantian, without a single Great Cultivator, they dared to roam around boastfully, controlling other sects.

With such an arrangement, without a Great Cultivator present, there really wasn’t much to worry about.

"However, Your Highness, don’t underestimate any Cultivator of the Heavenly Barrier,"

the Master earnestly advised. "Breaking through a Heavenly Barrier just represents drawing essence of different levels, but some Cultivators who pursue the peak of combat power might defeat those at the Four Symbols Level even if they are just at the Five Elements Level. Those at the Four Symbols Barrier can vary greatly in strength from one another."

"Alright, I understand," Lin Yue nodded slightly.

A world so vast is sure to be full of wonders, and battles beyond one’s level are not uncommon.

If realm could simply represent combat power, everyone would just declare their realm before a fight and save a lot of trouble.

"Before heading to Di Hong City, the young master can hide here."

Master said, "The scenery of Red Maple Lake is quite beautiful, and it is only a few miles away from Liangzhou City, which would be convenient for the young master to come and go."

Immediately, he looked at the four honest Martial Cultivators listening below and said indifferently, "There is no need to disclose the young master’s presence to others. In the future, the young master might appear on behalf of Red Maple Lake, and that should suffice."

The four immediately responded respectfully, "Yes."

"Leave the token and you may all leave," the Master waved his sleeve.

The leading Sect Leader immediately walked towards Lin Yue while holding a token.

Before he got close to Lin Yue, he saw a sudden blur in front of his eyes as a tall and valiant masked woman appeared. She looked at him indifferently and said faintly, "Hand it to me."

"Yes," the leading Sect Leader respectfully handed over the token.

Baili Fengzhi took the token, waited for the others to retreat, and then inspected the token before returning to Lin Yue’s side.

After all, the Master had just mentioned that Martial Cultivators seeking the ultimate in combat power at the Five Elements Level might also overcome those of the Four Symbols Heaven Barrier Level.

She naturally had to be a bit more cautious with an unfamiliar Martial Cultivator approaching.

Lin Yue took the token, glanced at it, and realized it was a Minister Token from the Red Maple Sect, then tossed it back to Baili Fengzhi, saying casually, "You hold onto it."

After all, she was his personal guard and would always be by his side.

After the four had left, Master said, "Sect Leader can rest assured, these four are controlled by our secret toxin and techniques. Although we nurtured them, they do not know if we belong to the Tantian Sect or if we are trustworthy."

"Will I be staying in a residence transformed by the Sword Seeking Boat, or with the Red Maple Sect from now on?" Lin Yue asked.

"Naturally inside the Sword Seeking Boat, only then can we rest assured."

Master said, "The Barrier of the Sword Seeking Boat currently envelops the place where the Sect Leader resides. It does not need to fly and consumes very little energy. It should not be a problem for a year or two."

He paused and then added, "When the Sect Leader has time, he can also visit the Forbidden Land of Red Maple Lake. There is a stele there which, it is said, can benefit Martial Cultivators. Red Maple Lake, fearing discovery, has specially designated it as a Forbidden Land, so it must be somewhat useful."

"Good," Lin Yue nodded slightly.

Baili Fengzhi whispered, "Tonight I can go check it out for Your Highness first. If it proves useful, I’ll arrange for Your Highness to visit."

Lin Yue hmmmed and said, "I’ll focus on cultivation recently, aiming to achieve the state of ’Refining Power Like Silk, Perfect Unity’ in one go before considering anything else."

He then glanced at Yu Shiqi and smiled, "Then I’ll learn the unique skills of little Yu."

Yu Shiqi immediately nodded earnestly and said, "Your Highness, rest assured, little Yu’s unique skills are definitely very strong."

"Alright, I’m going back to continue my rigorous training."

Lin Yue did not forget to instruct, "Remember to buy some fine wine and food from Liangzhou City and send them to Taoist Tu."

"Yes, Sect Leader."

...

Inside the residence transformed from the Sword Seeking Boat.

"Bang!"

A resounding echo arose in the courtyard, and Lin Yue’s fist slowly sank into the Purple Gold Shield held by Baili Fengzhi.

After withdrawing his fist, Lin Yue shook his wrist and smiled contentedly, "This time felt good, the force was much more satisfying than before."

And the punch mark on the Purple Gold Shield was obviously much deeper than last time.

Baili Fengzhi glanced at it and expressed surprise, "Indeed, Your Highness’s punch has driven the Formless Metal more than half an inch into it."

Lin Yue laughed, "It seems Refining Power Like Silk won’t take too long."

Last time the punch mark was only three-tenths deep.

Just one day later, reaching over half an inch means an improvement of at least seventy percent!

This rate of progression was already quite astonishing.

He had practiced the Fighting General Technique forty-one times in one breath, and it was not in vain.

"It should be soon."

Baili Fengzhi was also somewhat expectant, "The fastest I’ve seen took two months to refine power like silk. I wonder how long Your Highness will need?"

"Two months? Who?" Lin Yue asked curiously.

Baili Fengzhi whispered, "It was myself."

Lin Yue laughed in disbelief.

...

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, a month had passed.